With each new innovative installation of SXSW, it’s easy to think the tech character of Austin is eclipsing that of “the Live Music Capital of the World”. But have faith! Aside from those international conferences and meet-and-greet mingles, South By’s still an essential institution for creatives on the prowl for new collaborators outside the local scene, e.g. Austin’s Graham Reynolds and Milan’s Marta Del Grandi.Graham’s a longtime piano-playing KUTX favorite, who, speaking of tech, wrote the score for Rick Linklater’s A Scanner Darkly, among a handful of others. And honestly, his extensive accomplishments in performance, production, theatre, dance, film, and television speak for themselves before you first spin his music. Then there’s Marta, a classically-trained singer who’s been coming up quick since 2021 and just released her debut full-length Selva at the tail-end of October.Well, in the time since this past March, Marta and Graham have made hay of their auspicious SXSW encounter with their still-fresh single “Linger In Silence”. Along with its Italian-language counterpart, “Linger In Silence” steals any need for commentary with serene strings, Reynolds’ idiosyncratic piano tones, and Del Grandi’s double-tracked unison vocals. By the tune’s halfway point, the expansive arrangement and cinematic dynamics step into the spotlight for a hell of a breakneck bridge before the alleviating final verse and chorus take you off guard from “Linger”‘s explosive finish that’ll leave you speechless.
austin music
Looking Back at 2023
As we start to wind down for the winter, Confucius and Fresh look back at some of the show’s 2023 highlights before continuing the debate of whether or not the dominance of female rappers will continue into 2024. Get that plus an Unpopular Opinion about establishments exercising discretion, Hip-Hop Facts, and Confucius Reads the News on the latest episode of The Breaks.
J Halp: “Alone Again”
All kinds of projects experience peaks and valleys when it comes to periods of prominence. But for one percussionist in particular, the passion for putting his sticks in the mix has never gotten tied down by any one group’s momentum. And no, we’re actually not talking about John Speice IV.
Instead we’re taking this Monday to appreciate native Austinite drummer Josh Halpern, perhaps best known to millennials as co-founder/co-composer for indie duo Marmalakes. Although Marmalakes’ heyday is well behind us, Halpern’s held onto his status as a must-have, must-hear contributor thanks to his work with Shearwater, Bayonne, Still Corners, and…frankly far too many other Austin acts to chronicle here. That said, he, like many other multidisciplinary creatives at the onset of COVID, began investing time into a solo-producer-singer-songwriter endeavor – aptly eponymized as J Halp.
Halpern’s been busy this past year backing up Rob Leines, but with only a couple weeks left in 2023, managed to reach a complete handful of officially released solo singles this morning. “Alone Again” kicks off with the type of perfectly-in-the-pocket drumbeat that made Halpern such a maven in the first place. But the moment the high-pass filter switches off, the real star of J Halp – Josh’s unstrained, melancholic vocals – really start to shine. With some killer keys gluing the whole thing together, “Alone Again” sits somewhere in between David Bowie, Arcade Fire, and Gorillaz for a moody mix of old and new. Love you, Halpy; keep up the good work.
Leti Garza: “Mi Amor (Español)
As far as Song of the Day is concerned, it’s the final New Music Friday of 2023. We’re taking an eight-day break beginning next Friday and’ll be hitting the ground running strong in 2024 for Free Week. With that said, this New Music Friday packs in both an Austin artist and an album announcement.
We’re looking at Leti Garza, who’s already cemented her status as a Live Music Capital treasure since her 2017 LP El Unico Para Mi and her 2021 EP Borderland. Leti’s ability to navigate all kinds of topics and genres in the local Latin space is near unparalleled, so imagine our excitement around this morning’s piece of news – Garza’s upcoming sophomore full-length Canciónes Sobre La Vida y La Muerte – guaranteed to include gallows humor, macabre musings, and optimism over the inevitable.
As hinted at by the record’s second lead single – the waltzy “Mi Amor (Español)” – Canciónes is set to break down the borders between folk, Latin jazz, pop, and new age, not to mention traditional and contemporary. Anchored by a charming orchestral arrangement, “Mi Amor” makes Garza sound like a Broadway star, almost like a curtain-pulling Act I opener for a musical that doesn’t exist yet. Leti…for the life of us, we love you to death, and we can’t wait for Canciónes‘ release in late January.
Midnight Maniac: “I Heard It In A Nightmare”
As time marches on, it’s so fascinating to notice which vintage words get assigned to which decades. For ’90s-early ’00s it’s “throwback. For ’60s-’70s it’s usually “retro”. But outside of “old school” one of our favorite labels is that most often tacked on to the 1980s, and that’s “flashback”. Which, especially for those awesomely-overproduced recordings of pop and rock, really does a great job of representing that in-your-face, cinematic, “you just had to be there” energy.Which brings us to Midnight Maniac. Made up of multi-instrumentalist-songwriters Jake Curtis Allard and Marshall Benson, this Austin duo has already dived headfirst into electronic-pop-laden hard rock. And sure, while they’ve certainly got the hair to match, the music alone sounds fresh out of an end-of-Cold War time capsule. And Midnight Maniac has big plans for 2024, so ahead of a full album and a nationwide tour, these two teamed up with Aerosmith/AC/DC collaborator Chris Athens to master their sweat-drenched debut single.Like a piece of sonic sleep paralysis, that’s just as impactful as it is brief, “I Heard It In A Nightmare” glistens from its first group vocals all the way through its final ass-kicking guitar chord. Whether you’re headbanging through your commute, or breaking out the brush microphone and air guitar at home, this debut single is a dark-yet-sparkling dream come true for processed hard rock hounds.
Cha’Keeta B Interview
The fun kicks off this week on an interview with Austin’s Cha’Keeta B to talk women in hip-hop and her upcoming EP Where the Wild Flowers Grow. After that Confucius and Fresh talk about accountability when it comes to violence against women in music, the baffling ambassadorship of Lil Yachty, and more.
nolo: “Appetite”
If you’re looking to get out of the house this evening and support some local music without just padding the band’s drink tab, we’ve got just the thing for you.
Consider this our official nod to nolo, an Austin alt-rock quartet whose four members first met up in rehab a half decade back. Don’t worry; the boys are all still sober. And as a matter of fact they’ve teamed up with Recovery Unplugged to create and host the Sober Sessions open mic series. So even though nolo’s put the hard stuff down, their energetic brand of rock is an intoxicating upper all on its own.
Lately nolo’s been working up their debut full-length, set for release next Spring. And this morning nolo served up the LP’s second lead single “Appetite” alongside a manic music video, silly string, strobe lights, white psych patient scrubs, and all. If you’re tired of shit stressing you out from this past work week, dance it all out with nolo 10:45PM tonight at our station’s neighbor Hole in the Wall. If you’d rather stay cooped up in your own resident looney bin, at least pump the fine-polished pop rock of “Appetite” again through your favorite pair of headphones or speakers.
Uncle Lucius: “All the Angelenos”
If you missed out on some quality family time during Thanksgiving, we’ve got some musical kin for you who’ll help clean out any leftovers. We’re talking about our dear Uncle Lucius, an Americana rock endeavor spearheaded by Kevin Galloway. A beloved Austin institution since their 2006 debut Something They Ain’t, the fellas actually considered putting Uncle L to bed back in 2018. But with millions of streams still showing support, especially 2012’s “Keep the Wolves Away” (which racked up hundreds of such, eventually reaching Gold status), Galloway and the gang realized this unofficial family affair still had plenty of fuel to stoke the flames.
So, almost a decade after their previous LP The Light, this Friday Uncle Lucius returns with Like It’s The Last One Left. True to its title, LITLOL packages ten new tracks that find Uncle Lucius in tip-top form, and would hypothetically make for a mighty fine farewell if the circumstances arose. But since we’re not banking on the boys calling it quits anytime soon, we don’t see this as a Hail Mary. Instead its a mighty fine amalgamation of seventeen-plus years of tour-proven excellence, with some reorganized roles and restructuring as a sextet.
Like It’s The Last One Left also went the inclusive route, inviting in collaborators like Reckless Kelly fiddler Cody Braun, who graces the album’s final lead single “All the Angelenos”. Speaking of other towns, Uncle Lucius heads over to Houston this weekend before performances in Dallas and Goliad later this month, which’ll bookend a gig at Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater 7PM on Saturday, December 30th. So put a positive spin on Austin’s ever-increasing population growth with “All the Angelenos”, because you really can’t get enough new folks to stop by and meet their new Uncle Lucius.
Chief Cleopatra: “December All Year” (Live in Studio 1A)
Apologies in advance to all the Scrooges out there, but the winter holidays are on our doorstep. So if you haven’t already, prepare for in-store speaker systems, radio spots, TV commercials, and hell even carolers to give us our annual fill of festive favorites. And while the Bing Crosbys and Brenda Lees of generations past still pack an iconic charm into this last month, we love that the novelty of “Christmas music” hasn’t negated the creation of holiday-inspired originals from modern artists of all backgrounds, like our February 2022 Artist of the Month Chief Cleopatra.Cleo combines soul, rock, gospel, hip-hop, funk, R&B, and more into a non-genre-denominational sound that perfectly complements this singer’s eccentric and often ornamental sense of fashion. She blew us away at the onset of COVID with her eponymous three-tune debut, and made an even more memorable impact last spring with her Walker Lukens-produced follow-up EP Luna. Chief Cleopatra also wowed us with the wide arrangement on this past March’s “Weekend Warrior”, yet it’s the piece of DSII-produced yuletide joy we found under our tree this morning that reassure us how special this Austin treasure is.So much so that we invited Chief Cleopatra and a backing sextet to cut an extended live edition of “December All Year“ in our very own Studio 1A. A mellow Christmas miracle from its first full-band downbeat through its closing keyboard quote of “Jingle Bells”, Chief Cleopatra makes Mrs. Claus seem more like Ellen Griswold with register-spanning vocals that have us second-guessing if there’s mistletoe above us.
Cinnamontal: “P.R.P.P.P.”
If the corporate powers that be haven’t already ushered in the official start of Christmastime, December 1st will certainly flip the switch. So might as well ignite the yule log early with some new, locally-sourced aural ornaments, starting today with Denise Murray.
Better known by her nickname Cinnamon, and by extension, her creative handle Cinnamontal, this Austinite’s a classically-trained, Berklee, Spain-educated bassoonist, producer-singer-songwriter who’s performed on Slovenia’s Eurovision, rubbed elbows in-studio with Grammy winners, achieved semifinalist status at Montreux Jazz Fest’s Jazz Voice Competition, and become host of The Music Executive podcast. So, it’s easy to see that Murray’s plate stays pretty full even outside of the Thanksgiving season.
That said, this past year Cinnamontal’s taken some real strides in establishing her solo act, having released her debut streaming single “Gold Star” in mid-June and following it up with late August’s “Be Like U”, both of which have introduced us to a powerful new voice in Austin R&B. And while there’s no point in trying to snatch Mariah’s crown when it comes to most beloved holiday R&B song, Cinnamontal and her bassoon James sure have put a saucy twist on the iconic “Little Drummer Boy” melody with a tune that wraps voluptuous vocals, hearth-warming woodwinds, head-bobbing beats, and gift-ready guitar into a neat little Christmas package. So put “P.R.P.P.P.” on your holiday playlist and try not to imagine St. Nick getting seduced by its slinky sonics, kissing mommy or not.
Parker Woodland: “True Love Will Find You In The End”
First thing’s first. Parker Woodland isn’t a person; it’s a band. More accurately, it’s an Austin-based indie rock collective captained by activist/singer-songwriter Erin Walter. And although Walter, guitarist Andrew Solin, and drummer Keri Cinquina comprise the group’s core trio, Parker Woodland always welcomes a revolving cast of contributors both in-studio and on-stage for inclusive arrangements that complement the band’s hefty emotional weight. Between their placement at Rock the Park and as of last weekend, The Breakfast Boogie, clearly Parker Woodland’s earned their keep as a KUTX favorite and a can’t-miss curator of the Austin Music Experience in 2023.
As for next year, the gang’s been working towards the full-length follow-up to their February 2021 debut EP The World’s On Fire (And We Still Fall In Love). And as Parker Woodland passes the half decade mark of their run, we’re positive that this LP will leap off streaming services and warm hearts citywide. In the meantime, to wrap up this month, you can get a taste of the live portion with an all-ages, stage-filling affair 8PM this Thursday at The Mohawk with Sabrina Ellis and Sheverb. Sure, Live from Love Hill offers an honest representation of Parker Woodland’s in-concert chops, but obviously, the in-person experience is the real deal.
Fingers crossed we get a fuller preview of this new record, whose tunes like the Daniel Johnston folk-punk re-work “True Love Will Find You In The End” have already promised the inevitability of affection and adoration for listeners of any kind. To the naysaying loners, just try not to feel warm and fuzzy after pressing “play”, because this indie-folk fleur blossoms with gorgeous harmonies and optimistic orchestral flourishes before a final-minute sprint into punk-rock-inspired passion.
Kirk Smith: “This Debt”
For some creatives, dropping new tune is their sole bread and butter. For others, it’s just one more “could do” option within an already-busy schedule. But speaking to the latter, those folks who juggle a handful of demanding passions surely do deserve some leniency when it comes to big breaks between formal music releases.
Take a gander at Kirk Smith. Aside from his singer-songwriter status, Smith spends his time with sandlot baseball, remodeling houses, raising a family, instructing Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and oh yeah, being a published poet-playwright. Safe to say we can cut Kirk some slack for the decade-and-a-half interval between his 2003 debut Suddenly Bright Out and the singles that would go onto become his sophomore full-length Ithaca. That said, the record’s a true return to form, a compelling comeback for someone who clearly gives a crap about this craft, fifteen-year hiatus aside.
After Ithaca‘s arrival this past June, Kirk Smith has been wading back into the live scene and gigging when he can. So before you catch Kirk at ABGB just before Christmas, consider seeing a full band performance 7:30PM tomorrow night at Meanwhile Brewing Co. alongside Nathan Hamilton. After all, with offbeat originals that champion carefully-constrained dynamics like “This Debt”, you owe it Smith to show out and show some local love.
Impasto Gardens: “Glass Dose”
Now that we’ve had ample time to metabolize our holiday meal, might as well move back to the normal programming with the final New Music Friday of November. And today we’re listening to Austin singer-guitarist-producer Joseph McCaffrey, who you might recognize as the cofounder of mid-aughts indie pop outfit Nightmare of You. It’s been a little over a decade since we last heard from NoY, and now that McCaffrey’s entered his 40s, he’s leaning into that middle aged call to cultivate.
That’s right, just last month McCaffrey formally introduced us to his new solo project Impasto Gardens, a visually inspired crossbreed of shoegaze, pop rock, and indie psych – tangled somewhere in between Ride, Slow Dive, Explosions in the Sky, The Stone Roses, and The Jesus and Mary Chain. Late last month, the first single for Impasto Garden’s upcoming eponymous debut, “Support Systems”, made for a great introduction to McCaffrey’s newfound style, and has already racked up 40,000 spins on Spotify alone. And today he takes those textured nuances even further with the LP’s second harvest ahead of its release next January.
As the eighth of Impasto Garden‘s near-dozen tracks, “Glass Dose” provides a pivotal beat to transition into the album’s final act. Spacey guitar subdivisions and a complex drum pattern instantly paint a picture in the initial moments of “Glass Dose”, and as the reverb soars, so does the sense of translucent psychedelia in this succinct yield that’s strong enough to stand on its own – complete with quick-pan piano, un-buriable bass lines, and vegetative vocals.
The VYB Project & Tobias Lund: “Gradient”
SXSW, and by extension, the year-round Austin Music Experience as a whole, draws tons of international acts, eager to gain traction, to our fair city limits. And outside the live scene, our academic institutions also attract a ton of talent, and not just UT. No, it seems like ACC, in particular its Music Business program, serves as somewhat of a melting pot for artists ready to take their career to the next level.
At least, that’s exactly where Mumbai producer Trishant Bhatt (better known as The VYB Project) first linked up with Copenhagen singer-songwriter Tobias Lund. It didn’t take long for them to realize that Bhatt’s borderless production style and Lund’s soul-pop vocals could make for a colorful combo, and soon enough, they paired up and got to work. And just in time for the holiday, Lund and The VYB Project released the first fruit of their labor last Friday, in what we’re hoping will evolve into a cornucopia of collaborations.
Lund’s sultry pipes grace Bhatt’s crisp drums, evolving electronic arpeggios, easy-going guitar, and seductive synth chords on “Gradient” for a gliding piece of EDM and pop that’ll keep you warm throughout a full spectrum of upcoming winter weather.
Karima Santi: “Space”
No matter how immense a musical talent is intrinsically, sometimes resetting your surroundings can be the biggest catalyst to moving on up. Like, look at singer-guitarist Karima Santi, who cut her teeth in jazz, folk, and punk groups on the other side of the decade up in the Raleigh-Durham area. Sure, those bands kept Karima busy, and yet at the same time, none of them managed to quite suit Santi’s specific niche of styles and tastes. So by the time she moved down here to Austin, COVID creeping up behind, Santi’d already begun zeroing in on solo songwriting, releasing her streaming debut “You in 3/4” that August.
Since then, Karima’s repertoire of indie rock originals has reached the hundreds, and her connections with local industry heavyweights has only expanded after recording at feel flow studio back in 2021. Case in point: Karima’s recently collaborated with a dream team of Austin talent plus Grammy-nominated producer/engineer Chris “Frenchie” Smith at The Bubble to give her Mazzy Star-meets-Cat Power compositions their best set of legs possible. On top of that, she just made her SoFar sounds debut on Veteran’s Day.
So while it’s easy enough to admire Karima Santi in this still-fledgling phase, we can also appreciate the anxiety that must come from starting fresh in a new town with a lifetime’s worth of tunes in tow. And following October’s “Underwater”, Santi speaks to that unease with her deceptively downtempo latest, “Space”. Its overlapping guitars and unwavering drums forge an acoustic-electric garrison around Santi’s emotional vocals for a four-minute masterpiece of moodiness.
Avara: “BABY BLUE BEAMER”
It’s Native American Heritage month, but hopefully we’re all hip to the fact that an “American Indian” is not the same thing as an Indian-American. That’s important because today we’re shining the spotlight on Avara Ellorie, best known by her mononym Avara.
Born in New York City and raised in Atlanta, Avara’s pilgrimage from one musical metropolis to another has led to her latest home base here in Austin. And it’s here that her journey as a songwriter and producer – one that began with a Taylor Swift record back in grade school – has really begun making impressions on listeners. With her Indian heritage front and center to her lyrical identity, Avara avoids any obvious Eastern instrumental influences in her arrangements, instead absorbing the best of modern Western R&B to create an accessible, lush brand of soundscapes – somewhere between Alina Baraz, Ariana Grande, and The Weeknd.
And 2023’s proven awfully auspicious for Avara, considering she’s dropped a handful of singles (whose aesthetic alternates between all caps and strictly lowercase) ahead of her debut EP – out next February. And today, just in time for the weekend, we received that inaugural EP’s final lead single “BABY BLUE BEAMER” – a rock-oriented R&B banger that lets off the gas pedal to coast through nearly three minutes of breathy falsetto, hypnotic vocal effects, glued-to-the-pavement percussion, and tire-screeching guitar – all for a cinematic getaway chase of pensive sensuality.
Kenton Mackay: “Royalty Free”
You wouldn’t download a car would you? Heck yeah I would! That’s right, at least for my generation, internet piracy was a moral middle ground. Sure Lars Ulrich didn’t get the extra million he was hoping for, but in an era before streaming services became ubiquitous, the high seas were a great place for millennials to develop their musical tastes. And that’s more or less the origin story for Austin’s Kenton Mackay, who despite an upbringing smack dab in the middle of nowhere, was able to grab a guitar, put his ISP to work, and inundate himself in the likes of Nirvana, Radiohead, and Beck.
Once that baseline was under his belt, Mackay moved to our fair city limits and quickly caught onto mainstays like The Black Angels and Broncho, launching his own fuzz rock songwriting career not too long afterwards. Fast forward to this year, when Mackay and his backing band The Sensors have been working on their debut EP In Good Taste, an indie alt-pop-rock endeavor mix and mastered by the legendary Erik Wofford and set for release next Spring.
Mackay and the Sensors find a grunge-pop sweet spot on In Good Taste‘s second lead single “Royalty Free”, which finds Kenton’s robust baritone sarcastically begging for funds and recognition – almost a wink and nod to his early not-so-legal musical exposure. But that doesn’t mean you can’t support Kenton Mackay when he plays midnight next Saturday at Hotel Vegas for a single release show following Born Twins at 10 and Flags at 11. And at just under three minutes, who needs Limewire when you can just cue up “Royalty Free” on your favorite streamer, smash that “repeat” button, and let the numbers speak for themselves?
Honey Made: “FYC”
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, we’re already salivating over all the fixings, dressings, and sauces that await us next week. But if you want something homegrown that’ll slather up your ear drums and keep you full ’til the proverbial turkey gobbles, serve yourself up some Honey Made.
The Austin-based nine-piece started oozing out of the jar at the turn of this past decade, and in 2020 alone put out not just their debut EP Couple Few but also their first full-length Brand New. Now, as with any horn-heavy stage-filling ensemble, Honey Made is best enjoyed in a live setting, so we can’t really blame them for taking their time in terms of subsequent studio releases. That said, this Friday Honey Made unfurls their sophomore EP Charge It To The Band Fund.
On top of an edit of last summer’s “Upstairs”, CITTBF totes six new tunes that attest to Honey Made’s impressive perseverance and undying efforts towards shaking rumps and sating the parched. As someone who used to play in a fifteen-piece, I can tell you that the band fund is all-too-real, and honestly a better bet for pooling towards the next big thing. So chip in as much as you can at the Charge It To The Band Fund EP release show 10PM Saturday night at the Skylark Lounge with openers The Reverent Few at 8PM. And if you want to get some mileage out of your stank face before settling in with your relatives, loved ones, or whomever you share Thanksgiving with, turn the volume all the way up, plow onto your couch, and get kickin’ with “FYC”. Whether or not you take your shoes off is up to you…
NOA: “Ba Li” (feat. CHRON!AC)
For as many hurdles as it faces, Austin’s hip-hop/R&B scene only seems to keep getting stronger in recent years. And for the sake of variety, thankfully it’s not just macho monotone mumblers either; there’s been an influx of soul-informed female acts whose styles straddle between rapping and singing.
Among those to keep an ear out for is Noa Belillti, better known mononymously as NOA. Now, NOA’s been doing her thing here since 2011, but only dropped her debut EP In Your Dreams this past February. The Israeli-Moroccan’s since gone on to share a stage with KUTX favorite BLK ODYSSY at SXSW, compose and perform for Iram Reyes’ From Where I Stand, and continue to enjoy a residency at Half Step on Rainey Street every fourth Wednesday. It wouldn’t be fair to call NOA’s talent dynamite, because that would imply that a fuse that eventually fizzles, a big bang that begets silence. No, NOA and her pulchritudinous pipes are more like a never ending sequence of firecrackers, sparkling with sassy sensuality and popping with deservedly cocky confidence.
Just yesterday NOA stamped her hip-hop passport with an east-of-Java jet-setter that finds her once again teaming up with international producer CHRON!AC, (who lent their talents to the In Your Dreams closer “Call Me Up”). Eastern sensibilities surge throughout the instrumentation of “Ba Li“, building a tropical trap backdrop for NOA to absolutely go off. Between its bangin’ BPM and rapid-fire lyrical style switches, we’re wondering how much of “Ba Li” is NOA’s idea of self-empowered security versus the manifestation of an indulgent rager yet to happen.